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Biology MA > 4a organisms in the environment > Flashcards

4a organisms in the environment Flashcards

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1
Q

what are decomposers? give examples.

A

Saprobiotic organisms (such as bacteria or fungi) that break down dead organic tissue and releases carbon dioxide and simple compound and ions. (feed saprotrohically)

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2
Q

what is saprotrophic nutrition?

A

The mode of nutrition in which organisms feed on dead and decaying matter.

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3
Q

what is a producer?

A

plants which photosynthesise to produce food

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4
Q

what are consumers?

A

animals that eat plants or other animals

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5
Q

what are decomposers?

A

organisms that break down dead material and help to recycle nutrients

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6
Q

what is the physical environment?

A

all the non-biological components of the ecosystem, e.g., water and soil in a pond or soil and air in a forest

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7
Q

what are biotic/abiotic components of an environment?

A

the living and nonliving components of an organism

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8
Q

what does an ecosystem contain?

A

a vareity of habitats

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9
Q

what is population?

A

All the members of the same species within the same habitat.

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10
Q

what does abiotic mean?

A

A physical or chemical factor affecting an ecosystem e.g. light intensity or temperature.

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11
Q

what is community?

A

All of the living organisms within an ecosystem.

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12
Q

what is habitat?

A

The particular place where a community of organisms is found.

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13
Q

what is an ecosystem?

A

All of the living organisms in an area along with all the abiotic features of the environment.

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14
Q

what is an environment?

A

The conditions surrounding an organism. Divided into abiotic features (e.g. temperature, water availability) and biotic factors (e.g. competition and predation).

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15
Q

what does the term biodiversity mean?

A

The amount of variation shown by organisms in an ecosystem; it takes into account the number of different species and (relative) abundance (number) of each species.

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16
Q

describe a practical where you could investigate the population size of an organism in 2 different areas

A
  1. place the quadrats randomly on a numbered grid and note down the coordinates (like a 10x10m grid) or use a random number generator (on calculator) for the coordinates
  2. go to the coordinates, place the quadrat down, and count the number of things e.g., dandelions
  3. repeat this for 9 other quadrats in the same area
  4. go to your second area and repeat the same process
    - create a table of results and then create a mean number of things per m^2 in each area.
  5. does this support your hypothesis
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17
Q

why is biodiversity good?

A

because an ecosystem dominated by 1 or 2 species is more likely to be affected by some sort of ecological disaster e.g., if a new disease arose that wiped out the dominant tee species, this would have an impact on other species that relied on the tree for food and shelter. in a more diverse ecosystem, other species might supply these resources

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18
Q

describe a practical to compare the biodiversity of plants in 2 different habitats

A

maybe use random number generator to find the coordinates????
1. take 10 1m^2 quadrats to each area and sample the area
2. count the number of each plant species present in each quadrat
3. do the same in the other area
4. create a table with plant species and the total of each plant species in each area and 2 other columns
5. plot the result as 2 bar charts and the same axis scales for each bar chart. then compare and describe the biodiversity in the two areas.

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19
Q

give some examples of interaction in ecosystems

A

feeding among organisms (constant recycling of the same nutrients through the ecosystem).
competition among the organisms (animals compete for shelter, food, mates, plants for co2, mineral ions, light, water).
interactions between organisms and the environment (plants absorb mineral ions, CO2, water from the environment. plants give off water vapor, oxygen, animals use materials from environment to build shelter. temp can affect processes in organisms and vice versa)

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20
Q

what are some biotic factors? name them.

A

availability of food and competition for food resources predation
parasitism
disease
presence of pollinating insects
availability of nest sites.

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21
Q

what are some abiotic factors? name them.

A

climate, such as light intensity, temperature and water availability
hours of daylight
soil conditions, such as clay content, nitrate level, particle size, water content and pH

other factors specific to a particular habitat, such as salinity (salt content) in an estuary, flow rate in a river, or oxygen concentration in a lake
pollution.

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22
Q

what are the main abiotic factors of a river?

A

depth of water flow rate
type of material at the bottom of the stream (stones, sand, mud etc.)
concentration of minerals in the water
pH
oxygen concentration
cloudiness of the water
presence of any pollution.

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23
Q

biotic factors affecting animals in a river?

A

food supply, either from plants or other animals. large fish could not live in a shallow stream.

24
Q

what is a producer?

A

Organisms which produce complex molecules from simple ones using an additional energy source, e.g. plants producing glucose in photosynthesis.

25
Q

what is a primary consumer?

A

An organism which feeds on plants.

26
Q

what is a secondary consumer?

A

Animals that eat herbivores.

27
Q

what is a tertiary consumer?

A

A tertiary consumer is an animal that eats primary and secondary consumers in a food chain, and is usually at the top of the food chain. e.g. lions

28
Q

what is a trophic level?

A

One of the steps in a food chain.

29
Q

what is the fifth link in a trophic level called?

A

quantertiary consumer

30
Q

what is another way of describing a food chain?

A

it shows how energy is moved from one organism to another as a result of feeding

31
Q

why are food chains useful?

A

they are a convinient way of showing the feeding relationships between a few organisms in an ecosystem. they can also let you predict what woudl happen if the numbers of one organism in a food chain dropped easily. HOWEVER they oversimplify the situation. therefore, a food web may be more useful as it shows that interrelationships exist within and between foodchains in an ecosystem

32
Q

what are the two types of ecological pyramids?

A

pyramids of numbers, pyramids of biomass

33
Q

what is a pyramid of biomass?

A

A way of describing the relationship between different trophic levels in an ecosystem. Refers to the amount of biomass in each trophic level at a specific time. (twhaotal mass of organism in each trophic level)

34
Q

what is a pyramid of numbers?

A

A way of describing the relationship between different trophic levels in an ecosystem. Refers to the number of organisms (irrespective of mass) in each trophic level at a specific time.

35
Q

what is a pyramid of energy?

A

A way of describing the relationship between different trophic levels in an ecosystem. Refers to the amount of energy in each trophic level over a period of time.

36
Q

in a pyramid of ecology (idk) what is on the bottom/top?

A

bottom-producer
top-secondary/tertiary consumer (whatever is last)

37
Q

what is biomass?

A

The measure of mass of living material present of a species, measured in g per meter squared. (or total mass of a plant/animal with total water removed for dry biomass which is more reliable because water content of organisms varies with environmental conditions)

38
Q

why are diagrams of feeding relationships a pyramid shape?

A

because..
some parts of the grass are not eaten (the roots for example)
some parts are not digested and so are not absorbed - even though rabbits have a very efficient digestive system
some of the materials absorbed form excretory products
many of the materials are respired to release energy, with the loss of carbon dioxide and water.

39
Q

what is Biomagnification?

A

The increase in concentration of bioaccumulated substances (e.g. pollutants) along a food chain.

40
Q

what is bioaccumilation?

A

Build up of pollutants in an organism.

41
Q

what is BOD?

A

Biological Oxygen Demand; the amount of oxygen in water used up by organisms, measured in mg per litre.

42
Q

what is a carnivore?

A

An organism which feeds on other organisms.

43
Q

what is a consumer?

A

Organism that eats other organisms.

44
Q

what is interspecific competition?

A

Competition between organisms of different species.

45
Q

what is intraspecific competition?

A

Competition between organisms of the same species.

46
Q

what is an omnivore?

A

An animal which eats both plant and animal matter.

47
Q

what is a predator? what is prey?

A

predator - An organism that feeds on another organism, killing it before eating it.
prey - An organism hunted and killed for food.

48
Q

what is a quadrat?

A

Quadrat

49
Q

what is a species?

A

A group of similar organisms that are able to breed together to produce fertile offspring.

50
Q

what does an energy flow diagram show?

A

the main ways energy is transferred within an ecosystem and between the trophic levels of the ecosystem

51
Q

why is only 10% of energy tansferred from one trophic level to the next?

A

some parts of the grass are not eaten (the roots for example)
some parts are not digested and so are not absorbed - even though rabbits have a very efficient digestive system
some of the materials absorbed form excretory products
many of the materials are respired to release energy, with the loss of carbon dioxide and water.

52
Q

what are the key ideas involved in the flow of energy (diagrams though ecosystems)?

A
  • Photosynthesis ‘fixes’ sunlight energy into chemicals such as glucose and starch.
  • Respiration releases energy from organic compounds such as glucose.
Almost all other biological processes (e.g. muscle contraction, growth, reproduction, excretion, active transport) use the energy released in respiration.
If the energy released in respiration is used to produce new cells, then the energy remains ‘fixed’ in molecules in that organism. It can be passed on to the next trophic level through feeding.
If the energy released in respiration is used for other processes then it will, once used, eventually escape as heat from the organism. Energy is therefore lost from food chains and webs at each trophic level.
53
Q

what does a flow of energy diagram look like?

A

look at pg. 197

54
Q

if only 10% of energy is transfered at each tropich level, of the original 100% of the energy, how much gets tot he secondary consumer?

A

100% - 10% - 1%-0.1%
(divide by 10 each time)
a secondary consumer gets 1% of initial energy

55
Q
A

Biology MA (14 decks)

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